This topic intrigues me, mainly since it was discussed on one of our sessions over at TE-Therapy. What you do is head over to Alexa.com and type in the URL of your site on the search bar.

The result would yield (presuming you typed in the correct URL) your site information, your alexa global traffic rank, the traffic rank in a country (I’m presuming where you get the majority of visits from), your reputation by the number of sites linking in (Multiple links from the same site are only counted once.), and the number of stars and reviews for your site.

My site is three months old. When I started out, I got an Alexa ranking of around 6M. I suppose that is where everyone starts out more or less. Needless to say, I’ve been conscientiously and diligently working each day to build my site. I want to have a site that has quality content but at the same time reflects me and my persona. Well, my task is far from over. Having a site also means constantly updating it.

So is an Alexa ranking important at all? True enough that with patience my ranking has gone from 6M to less than 1M. Wow! 😀 (The figures are in reverse. You’d want a lower number which means a higher ranking.) So like most curious folks out there, I went to Mr.Google for the answer. Here’s what I found out…

Forum Doc said that an Alexa ranking is basically not important as this doesn’t really help a site. You can use the figures, however, to impress people who are easily impressed by numbers, but don’t quite understand what it means. The site goes on to say that the whole concept of an Alexa ranking is flawed because of three things. The first is the use of the Alexa toolbar. Apparently, this is only for the tech savvy individuals who are also most likely webmasters. Naturally, they tend to visit sites that also have higher Alexa ranking. Secondly, the site says that you can improve your Alexa ranking by installing the Alexa toolbar and visiting your own site a few times a day, and perhaps, recruit some friends to do the same. This will apparently help your ranking figures. Lastly, the site cites that you can actually pay to improve your Alexa ranking. It even provides a link to a site that does offer this service.

Here is another view from another site…

It explains that Alexa is a company owned by the amazon group and that it aims to rank every single website on the Internet in terms of how much traffic it is receiving. So the lower your Alexa ranking, the more traffic your website is getting. Pretty much like the first site, this one advises not to get too hung up on Alexa as a measure of how well your business is doing. I like the added information on the second site as it explains how Alexa gathers its estimated figures. This procedure is subject to a number of flaws as figures can get distorted. Plus, not everyone has the Alexa toolbar installed. The site also mentions that it is possible to purchase software that will generate false hits to your site using Alexa technology so that it pushes your ranking down. The site advises that what you should be watching are the actual traffic numbers, conversion rates, and overall sales. For what good would a high Alexa rank be if your site doesn’t earn you an income. 😛

So is Alexa ranking worth anything?

Here are some benefits outlined on yet another site…

>Alexa Traffic can be used as a competitive intelligence tool. You can compare how well your site is doing vs. your competitors.

>It helps webmasters and advertisers see the real marketing potential of your website. The better your Alexa rank, the higher they may be willing to bid for an advertising space on your site.

>Personal pages or blogs are also ranked in the same way as ordinary websites. (Yipee for me! :D)

>Alexa ranking is a good instrument for SEO because it helps you with information about your website.

Well whatever side you decide to take on, you can’t totally disregard Alexa ranking. It may not be the only measure of the success of your website, but it wouldn’t hurt either to rank well in it. 😀

Good post, Rain, with some strong arguments from both sides. I kind of agree with both. While I’m not working solely to improve my Alexa ranking (I don’t think it makes a massive difference overall; there are plenty of ranking and statistics sites out there), it is nice to see it change and it definitely gives some kind of incentive to get those backlinks made.

Great post rain, Like lisa said there are strong arguments in both directions, I tend to feel that taking a side is taking the idea to too much of an extreme.. too much focus on one tool as if its the only answer may have you pounding nails in with your shoes for the rest of your life.. I Feel that Alexa is sorta like a personal report card.. a way to measure your progress. As we know it comes down to conversions of traffic that really counts, though its nice to see were you stand..

True, Ted. I enjoy seeing my ranking get better too. I agree with the personal report card part. It’s a feedback in a way to know how your efforts are doing. There is much to be learned but this one is a good start. ^_^

I totally agree John. It leaves a good feeling to know that your hard work is paying off LOL ^_^

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